The Prince and the Thief
by Kris10-Marie
Summary: Eugene is an innocent sheltered prince who adventures out into the streets. Rapunzel is a wanted theif who gets her way by stealing and flirting. What happenes when their paths cross just days before the royal ball. *I don't own Tangled or the characters*
1. The Chase

**Chapter1**

Walking into the outlawed forest was like walking into a different world. According to the palace guards the forest was the hiding spot of every criminal and thief, but none of the guards had ever spent a night in it. Outside the forest along the stone bridge were Wanted Posters with the faces of criminals. Most of the posters said in scripted lettering _Wanted Dead or Alive _with even larger lettering underneath reading _Reward-1000 coins_. Some posters had been hanging on the wall for years while others disappeared in a matter of hours after they had been hung there. The forest had always been a safe place to hide with the lack of palace guards who dared to enter. No wealthy class peasants ever entered the forest without desperately needing something from a criminal.

Rapunzel was the most well known thief in the kingdom of Corona. Nobody would think a girl her size or age would ever be feared as a dangerous fighter. She was a little taller than 5 feet and had long golden blonde hair down to her knees. She had been a wanted thief for about 3 years now that she turned 18 a few weeks ago. Palace guards could easily capture her but she always flirted her way out of their hands. Staying in one place wasn't easy for her but her friends the Stabbington twins always convinced her to stay. They weren't as well known as Rapunzel but a lot more dangerous. The brothers had always been protective over Rapunzel since they met her. All three of them were in foster care together and always stuck together. As they grew older the brothers drifted apart from her. They didn't share details of missions with her or share

"Run!" She screamed back to the twins as they ran through the forest. Dodging fallen trees and shrubs on the ground she ran through the forest holding a bag closely to her. Her heart was beating through her chest and her lungs burned as she pushed herself forward faster. Looking behind her the twins were on both sides of her. Even though she had gotten a head start her short legs never carried her as fast as the twins could run. Suddenly a large hand grabbed her waist and she was thrown onto one of the twins backs. This was no surprise to her since they were so much faster than her. Holding onto his dark grey shirt she wrapped her legs around him as he ran next to his brother faster than before.

"Guys they are catching up, we can't outrun them they're on horses." She yelled again looking back at the palace guards getting closer. The twins were known around the kingdom as The Stabbington Brothers and had very distinct features nobody forgot. Robbie was 6'2 and had large sideburns down the side of his face. Both brothers were 26 and were as broad as a doorframe. Drew was just an inch taller than Robbie but had a large scar from his eye down to the corner of his mouth. Rapunzel always asked how he had gotten the scar when she was younger but she always received the same answer. Those fucking palace guards. Running farther into the woods they had hid in so many times before, everything soon became familiar. This wasn't the place they wanted to be.

"Shit!" Robbie yelled as they arrived in the place Rapunzel feared most. It was a large grassy opening surround by a tall rock wall. Drew set her down and tried climbing the large rocks up the wall. The higher he got the steeper and more spread apart the rocks became. Eventually reaching the highest he could go Drew jumped down landing on the grass.

"You two lift me up and maybe I can find a fallen tree for you guys to climb up." She said walking over to the brothers.

"We'll keep the bag with us to make sure you don't run off with it." Robbie said grabbing the bag from her. Drew lifted her up onto his broad shoulders having her stand on them.

"I can't reach it, I need another boost." She yelled down from the tops of Drew's shoulders. Robbie rolled his eyes walking over to Drew lifting him up slightly off the ground. Reaching out her arm she grabbed a vine pulling herself up. "Guys I'm up" She yelled down as she looked for something to help them up. Walking around the forest she found a fallen tree much too big for her move.

Suddenly they all heard the horses of the palace guards get closer to the opening. "Help us up Blondie you don't even have the bag." Robbie screamed up the ledge

"Check again smart one" She said with a smirk on her face. She looked down at the brothers as Drew patted around his belt. His confused expression soon turned to an angry scowl.

"You Bitch!" He yelled up the ledge as the guards entered the opening. Rapunzal walked away from the ledge swinging the bag around in the air. At first she couldn't believe she had just abandoned her friends. Thinking to herself she knew they would have done the same to her.


	2. Adventure

**Chapter 2**

The castle always had the scent pine no matter what the season. Everything was newly polished and all the floors were waxed each morning. The castle had over 50 servants and almost 100 different rooms. The large courtyard in the back of the castle always had grass that was cut to a specific length. No longer no shorter. Eugene had the life every peasant wished to live. He was waited on night and day and was given everything he could possibly wish for. Palace servants weren't allowed to speak to any of the royal family members unless spoken to first. Eugene was turning 26 in a week and the royal ball had already been planned for months. The royal families from all over were coming to celebrate. The upper town square was crowded with the annual festivities.

Merchants saved all their finest goods from the year for this special week. Small carts lined the streets filled jewelry, food, and silks. Everyone who was anyone attended.

Eugene roamed the castle halls as he always did during the day. He wasn't allowed to any important meetings so most days he spent exploring the wonders of the grand castle. Hidden staircases, the dungeons, or sometimes even the courtyard if he was allowed outside. His main focus assigned by his father was to find a girl to marry. He had refused to marry anyone until he found love but it had been over 5 years since his search had begun. The only girls he was allowed to meet either were very wealthy or part of a royal family. All of them spoiled brats who were given everything wanted. It seemed that he was the only one not ok with marrying for money and power not for love.

Walking farther down the hall Eugene got closer and closer to his destination. Only during certain sunlight hours he was allowed out in the courtyard. He always had about 4 servants to escort him around but this time he was sneaking out. He had snuck out once before but he never made it far in the courtyard before running back inside. He had learned that once a month every servant meets in the grand kitchen for a 15 minute meeting after he finished his lunch. He had been planning an adventure for almost 3 months making sure everything went perfectly to schedule. He was too leave in the courtyard, find the gate out into the upper village, spend a few hours exploring the village, and return before anyone noticed.

Opening the door to the courtyard he changed from his silk cloak. Hanging it on the small peg he threw on a ratted grey servant's cloak. He had asked to borrow it this morning so he wouldn't be recognized. Stepping out onto the freshly cut grass he breathed in the air filling his lungs. Walking passed oddly shaped bushes and trees he took the path he had mapped out earlier this week. Past the statue of his parents, left at the pumpkin patch, around the fountain, and down the stairs at the flower patch. At the end of the stairs he stood staring at the door. This was going to be the first time he was going into the kingdom and he wasn't backing out this time.

Outside the door was a whole different world he had pictured. He stood in an alley not far from the upper village circle. There were no scary people with sharp teeth he had been warned about. Nobody seemed to have the plague either. This wasn't a time to question what his parents had told him, this was only the beginning of his adventure. Lining the streets were carts filled with goods and fresh foods. Cart owners waving their hands out holding products yelling to buy something, that it is the best there is. Eugene walked down the cobblestone streets of the upper village taking everything in. Suddenly he felt a slight tug at the bottom of his cloak. He looked down to see a small boy standing before him. He was barefoot with pants torn at the bottom. His shirt was extremely oversized with holes and tears all over.

"What's wrong?" Eugene asked crouching down to eye level with the boy. There was no reply the boy just looked up at the apple cart next to them. Standing up Eugene took an apple of the cart handing it to the boy whose face soon turned to a smile as he ran away.

"You better be able to pay for that." the cart owner yelled at Eugene grabbing at his cloak.

"No sorry." Eugene said shaking in his shoes "But I can go to the castle and get some then."

"Oh really you street rat know the king, how about a different method of payment." He said drawing a small knife. The cart owner held Eugene's hand against the table winding up his arm. Eugene struggled to get free but it was no use, he couldn't break free from the man's tight grip

"Hey stop!" A girl yelled running up to the cart owner. She grabbed his arm not allowing it to cut into Eugene's hand. "I got the apple back, see, no need to go to these extreme measures." she said holding an apple she had just taken from the cart. The cart owner let go of Eugene's wrist and took the apple from her hand. The girl grabbed Eugene's wrist and pulled him away from the carts.

"Thank you." Eugene said as he ran to stay at her fast pace. She didn't stop or say anything just kept on moving towards a stone bridge separating the forest from the kingdom. From behind he noticed that she was much smaller than he thought she was. He determined that she must be about 5 feet and around the age of 18.

"What were you thinking!" She screamed when they reached the bridge. "I know you upper class peasants aren't that street smart but I didn't know you didn't have any common sense. Next time somebody won't be there to help you so learn fast."

Before Eugene could respond he just looked at her closer. Her big green eyes staring back at him like daggers as he scanned her. He had never met or seen a girl like her before. Her long blond hair flowing over shoulders like a waterfall reaching down to her ankles. She wore tall dark brown boots reaching up to her knees, light brown pants hugging at her hips, a plain white shirt rolled up to her elbows and unbuttoned to show a little cleavage, and a blue vest. He had never seen somebody with her qualities, the long hair or how she dressed. She turned facing the forest and walked along the bridge.

"Wait where are you going?" Eugene asked as he catched up with her.

"Not staying here any longer then I need to." She said turning to face him

"Can I come with you? I want to explore the kingdom and obviously I can't do it on my own."

"I don't help people." She said walking away

"Please I'll pay you after I promise."

"Fine." She said waiting for him to catch up. "What's your name?"

"Uh Rider, Flynn Rider." He said as he walked next to her into the forest. "How about you?"

"Rapunzel." She said as she ripped a wanted poster with her face on it off a tree.


	3. Snuggly Duckling

**So guys I hope you like this chapter. I wanted to start changing the point of view from Eugene to Rapunzel to Max so that starts to happen this chapter. Also don't forget to review I love reading all your opinions on the story. **

As they entered the forest Rapunzel couldn't help but have a smirk on her face. She had figured out as soon as she saw him that he was royalty. He was smart to hide it but forgot one detail. His shoes. The shine of newly polished dress shoes was too obvious not to notice. The ratted cotton cloak had to be from one of the servants, and the lack of street smarts put it in shining lights that he had never been out before. Even upper class people from the kingdom knew not to give a beggar food.

"Isn't the forest off-limits?" Eugene asked as he carefully stepped over fallen tree limbs. "I once read that it was the hiding place of all criminals and it even had its own hidden village. Have you been?"

"Don't worry criminals won't hurt you, they only go after people with money on them. And with the festivities they will all be in the kingdom." Rapunzel said as she followed a path with very specific footing. She looked at the ground as if she was calculating every step she took. "Stay by this tree I'll be back in a minute I just have to grab something." Eugene stood next to a tall oak tree watching Rapunzel. She took very odd steps as if she was dodging something in the ground. Finally arriving at a fallen tree she bent over grabbing something inside the tree trunk. She lifted a frying pan and sword out of the hollow hiding spot and placed her bag inside. Taking the same step pattern back to Eugene she handed him the frying pan.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked turning it over examining the cold metal in his large hand. Rapunzel rolled her big green eyes and grabbed the frying pan from him. Turning it over in her hand she swung her arm out in a swift motion striking a nearby small tree. The tree shook at the base and bent slightly to the left where she had struck it. Eugene looked at her in awe as she smiled slightly handing the frying pan back to him.

"Is your question answered now Flynn?" Rapunzel said as a sassy remark before she walked in front of him. Eugene just shook his head as he hurried to catch up with her. As they walked deeper into the woods dirt paths started showing themselves all over the forest. Eugene actually started to believe that people really live in these woods.

As they arrived to a path Eugene stopped at the edge staring at his feet. "My parents are going to kill me. How could I do this to them, leave. I have to go back." He muttered to himself. Rapunzel stood beside him as he fought with himself. Her arms crossed she leaned against a tree picking at her nails as Eugene paced back and forth. "This may be the only chance I get to have an adventure. But I promised I wouldn't ever leave. "He debated with himself.

After about 10 minutes of twirling her long blond hair Rapunzel stood up from the tree and started walking over to him. "I can't help but notice you seem at war with yourself. How about this, I'll return you to the kingdom, get my money you promised, and then you can go back to your grand rich life" She said almost taunting him.

"No! I can do this I'm not going back until I see the hidden forest village." He exclaimed harsher than he expected walking onto the dirt path. Rapunzel just nodded her head in response as she turned facing down the long pathway. The forest was nothing like Eugene had thought it would be. It was peaceful and safe, not dangerous and full of thieves. Suddenly Rapunzel stopped in her tracks and turned around quickly.

"Are you hungry? I know this great place right down the path. Don't worry it's totally friendly." She said eagerly. Her hands were placed on her hips as she looked up at Eugene with compassion. Before he could respond she spun around with her back facing him. "It's called the Snuggly Duckling. It's the best joint around here. "

"Well I do like ducklings." Eugene said as he caught up with her walking at her side.

"Max!" The King screamed from his velvet throne. "Something's wrong! My son is missing!"

Suddenly a tall man came running into the throne room. You could tell he was very muscular even under his white shirt with the royal emblem on the chest. "Sir, we have no idea his location but don't worry we will find him." Max said as he caught his breath.

"I know you will but it must be before the royal ball if he's not there everything's ruined."

The King said loudly filling the room. Max nodded in response, bowed, and ran out of the room.

He ran out to the stables where there was a team of palace guards waiting with horses. At their sides "You all know the plan. Find the prince and get him back alive. Don't let anything stand in your way."

As I walked up to the bar the familiar scent of booze filled the air. Flynn gagged at the smell covering his sensitive nose with his hand. His once clean hands were now covered in dirt with grains underneath his nails. _He'll fit in just fine if he doesn't speak,_ I thought to myself as we got closer. Before opening the door to the wooden lodge my eyes met Flynn's. I could tell that they were filled with fear as we stood outside not knowing what's on the other side of the door.

I opened the door as I had done many times before, before I had gotten rid of my drinking problem. Flynn walked in behind me through the door into the bar cautiously. _Everything was the same as the last time I was here_ I thought to myself as we walked farther into the bar. The floor was sticky and stained with blood and booze causing our shoes to make squishing sound. Scattered along the floor were pieces of broken bottles everywhere.

"Your finest table please" I yelled in a loud confident voice over the crowd. Before somebody replied which I knew nobody would, I noticed a small open booth across the bar and grabbed Flynn's arm dragging him over. Before we reached the booth a large man with one hand stepped in front of me blocking our way. Flynn squeezed my hand in fear I assumed as the man stood in front of me. He reeked of booze even when he hadn't opened his mouth yet.

"Is this you?" He snarled as he held up one of my wanted posters. Of course they made my eyes wrong.

"No." I said confidently standing up straighter. It didn't help much since I was barely 5 feet. Then everything happened so fast. A huge fight started in the bar separating me and Flynn. As much as a punched and kicked there was no use of me getting out of this situation anyway I had planned. In one swift movement Flynn swung the frying pan causing the man who was holding me to drop me to the sticky floorboards.

I couldn't believe what I had just done. Stick another man with a weapon, my parents would be so disgusted with me. But what choice did I have I couldn't let them just hurt her. Suddenly on the ground she pulled out her dagger from her boot and cut a large piece off of a man's peg leg. She rolled along the disgusting floor before the man fell to the ground to where she originally was. I grabbed her hand and lifted her off the ground carrying her out of the bar. As I slam the door closed I set her down back on the dirt path.

"I thought you said that place was friendly." I said as i breathed heavily.

"Let's just say they don't like me very much in there." She said walking off the path into the woods.

"Why?" I asked innocently.

"Well I'll put it as most of them have taken the fall for me." She said as we walked into the woods.

**Sorry i haven't updated in a while, i got super side-tracked and got so many ideas on so many stories. So much inspiration can be bad sometimes. Well I hope you all enjoyed it don't forget to review. :)**


	4. Friends

My plan had made things go from worse to bad. The goal was to not have people recognize me and that failed miserably. Of course I knew if people in there saw me then their first instinct would be to turn me in; how could I blame them. Me and the Stabbington brothers have avoided getting caught at all costs, and that meant having someone else take the blame. It wasn't as hard as it seemed though, the brothers threatened somebody who owed them and I flirted my way out of a situation.

Everything was different know though. There was a high price over my head that appealed to everybody and the brothers were considered so dangerous that they were wanted dead. They always did have a liking to bringing pain to others.

"Why have most of them taken the blame for you?" Flynn asked innocently following behind me. Even though he was much taller than me he was unsteady on the uneven dirt ground.

_Why do you think dumbass, men will do anything you want them to if they think it will get you in their bed._

"They thought they were going to get something in return." I answered dryly expecting him to understand what was in-between the lines.

"You know your picture is all over the castle, guards search these woods for you and those brothers daily." He said stopping in his tracks. He grabbed my shoulder turning me to face him. This act surprised me. Even though he knew I was a thief he still cared for me. Or acted to.

"I know" I laughed "And yet they still can't catch me." I taunted going onto my tip toes trying to get to his eye level.

"If they do catch you though, you'll go to the gallows. They won't show you any mercy. " He spoke softly as if he was afraid of somebody overhearing our conversation.

_No shit they won't show mercy, why should they I've killed enough of their men for them to be angry_

"If they catch me, and they won't." I said confidently before spinning on my heels walking farther into the forest.

She was one stubborn girl I'd give her that but how could she be so sure. I was always told our guards were the best in the kingdom but if this girl could outsmart them all her life how good could our guards be. Of course I didn't want her getting caught because I had seen a side of her that wasn't on the wanted posters. She's not just some crazy thief; she is caring and incredibly smart. Even if she doesn't relieve it yet. Still it was her face that were on the wanted posters and that won't change until my father and Max see her hanging from the gallows.

"Max is one of the best tractors the kingdom has ever had. He can find anybody." I said again trying to convince her that staying here wasn't safe.

"And I'm one of the best thief's this kingdom has ever seen." She mocked.

After what seemed to be another three hours but in reality was probably only barely one we reached a river. It looked like the one that ran through our courtyard but all rivers lead to the same place I guess.

"We will set up camp for the night okay?" She said dropping to the shore of the river.

After nodding in response I sat on a rock and unlaced my once polished shoes that were know covered in dirt and grass.

"What those aren't the best walking shoes?" She laughed looking at the pain in my face.

She was right though, the shoes were terrible for walking in long distances. They were intended to be worn while sitting on the throne so when peasants visited they would see them and go to the nearest cobbler and demand a pair. Everything is always a business transaction I guess.

After we had eaten and the fire was dying down she lied across the ground tucking her arms under her head as a pillow. It all seemed so natural for her. The woods. As if it was the only place she had ever lived. She knew what to avoid and what places where nobody else went. She belonged out here; hiding behind trees and bushes was all the protection she needed.

Eventually after watching the fire dye down I lied along the ground not far from the shore. The sound of the running water filling my ears as I fell asleep.

"Come on men! We can't take a break until the prince is found." Max yelled back to the group of guards behind him. Many of them sighed heavily knowing this was going to be a long night.

"Sir" One of the guards said "It's not safe to be in the woods at night. What if we run into the Stabbington brothers or Rapunzel?"

Suddenly Max spun around on his white horse yelling harshly "If we run into those criminals then we bring them back to the castle immediately. We will not let them get away this time."

The group of guards was silent as they walked farther into the woods. Most had the same opinion that they wanted to leave but had been to cowardly to speak up. As the night fell darker shouts and screams were the only thing to break the silence of the dark. Legend has it that at night you can hear the laughs of the criminals that never got caught. But of course that's only a legend.


End file.
